𝑹𝒆𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏 [𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧]

PART II

Hold on, Seaweed Brain." It was Annabeth's voice, much clearer now. "You're not getting away from me that easily.

The cord strengthened.

I could see Annabeth now - standing barefoot above me on the canoe lake pier. I'd fallen out of my canoe. That was it. She was reaching out her hand to haul me up, and she was trying not to laugh. She wore her orange camp T-shirt and jeans. Her hair was tucked up in her Yankees cap, which was strange because that should have made her invisible.

"You are such an idiot sometimes." She smiled. "Come on. Take my hand."

Memories came flooding back to me - sharper and more colorful. I stopped dissolving. My name was Percy Jackson. I reached up and took Annabeth's hand.

______________

Once she was gone, I knelt next to Annabeth and felt her forehead. She was still burning up.

"You're cute when you're worried," she muttered. "Your eyebrows get all scrunched together."

"You are not going to die while I owe you a favor," I said. "Why did you take that knife?"

"You would've done the same for me." It was true. I guess we both knew it. Still, I felt like someone was poking my heart with a cold metal rod. "How did you know?"

"Know what?"

I looked around to make sure we were alone. Then I leaned in close and whispered: "My Achilles spot. If you hadn't taken that knife, I would've died."

She got a faraway look in her eyes. Her breath smelled of grapes, maybe from the nectar. "I don't know, Percy. I just had this feeling you were in danger. Where...where is the spot?"

I wasn't supposed to tell anyone. But this was Annabeth. If I couldn't trust her, I couldn't trust anyone.

"The small of my back."

 She lifted her hand. "Where? Here?"

She put her hand on my spine, and my skin tingled. I moved her fingers to the one spot that grounded me to my mortal life. A thousand volts of electricity seemed to arc through my body.

"You saved me," I said. "Thanks."

She removed her hand, but I kept holding it.

__________________

"Hey." Anabeth slid next to me on the bench. "Happy birthday." She was holding a huge misshapen cupcake with blue icing.

I stared at her. "What?"

"It's August 18," she said. "Your birthday, right?"

I was stunned. It hadn't even occurred to me, but she was right. I had turned sixteen this morning - the same morning I'd made the choice to give Luke the knife. The prophecy had come true right on schedule, and I hadn't even thought about the fact that it was my birthday.

"Make a wish," she said.

"Did you bake this yourself?" I asked.

"Tyson helped."

"That explains why it looks like a chocolate brick. " I said. "With extra blue cement."

Annabeth laughed. I thought for a second, the blew out the candle.

We cut it in half and shared, eating with our fingers. Annabeth sat next to me, and we watched the ocean. Crickets and monsters were making noises in the woods, but otherwise it was quiet.

"You saved the world," she said

"We saved the world."

"And Rachel is the new Oracle, which means she won't be dating anybody."

"You don't sound disappointed," I noticed.

Annabeth shrugged. "Oh, I don't care."

"Uh-uh."

She raised an eyebrow. "You got something to say to me, Seaweed Brain?"

"You'd probably kick my butt."

"You know I'd kick your butt."

I brushed the cake off my hands. "When I was at the river Styx, turning invulnerable...Nico said I had to concentrate on one thing that kept me anchored to the world, that made me want to stay mortal."

Annabeth kept her eyes on the horizon. "Yeah?"

"Then up on Olympus," I said, "when they wanted to make me a god and stuff, I kept thinking-"

"Oh, you so wanted to."

"Well, maybe a little. But I didn't, because I thought - I didn't want things to stay the same for eternity, because things could always get better. and I was thinking..." My throat felt really dry.

"Anyone in particular?" Annabeth asked, her voice soft.

I looked over and saw that she was trying not to smile.

"You're laughing at me," I complained.

"I am not!"

"You are so not making this easy."

Then she laughed for real, and she put her hands round my neck. "I am never, ever going to make things easy for you, Seaweed Brain. Get used to it."

 When she kissed me, I had the feeling my brain was melting right through my body.

I could've  stayed that way forever, except a voice behind us growled, "Well, it's about time!"

Suddenly the pavilion was filled with torchlight and campers. Clarisse led the way as the eavesdroppers charged and hoisted us both onto their shoulders.

"Oh, come on!" I complained. "Is there no privacy?

"The lovebirds need to cool off!" Clarisse said with glee.

"The canoe lake!" Connor Stoll shouted.

With a huge cheer, they carried us down the hill, but they kept us close enough to hold hands. Annabeth was laughing, and I couldn't help laughing too, even though my face was completely red.

We held hands right up to the moment they dumped us into the water.

Afterward, I had the last laugh. I made an air bubble at the bottom of the lake. Our friends kept waiting for us to come up, but hey - when you're the son of Poseidon, you don't have to hurry.

An it was pretty much the best underwater kiss of all time.